Diversity and Inclusion in Teacher Education

On a conceptual level:

… diversity related to both individual and group characteristics

that are partially innate, partially individually acquired, and partially arise through policies and institutional practices. For example:

gender, ethnicity, culture, nationality, language, socio-economic status, age, mental and physical health, religion, etc.

all of these characteristics have in common that

• they do not occur in isolation but in combination with one another

• there is overlapping of varying categories of differentiation

• they involve power and inequality structures

On a normative level:

• diversity stands for the cherishing/appreciation of differences and the understanding of them as resources;

• diversity emphasizes the uniqueness of individuals (cf. e.g. Aretz/Hansen 2002, S.8)

• diversity clearly opposes discrimination on the basis of:

• ethnicitifying attributions, nationality, education, age, language, gender attributions, bodily, mental and psychological impairment, religion or ideologies, etc.

Reference for the construction of difference guidelines

Our understanding of inclusion …

Inclusion aims for the joint education of students with and without disabilities as well as a minimization of discrimination and a maximization of participation of all students.

Inclusion supports the continual development of values, attitudes, practices and institutional structures that seek to accomplish these aims.